Canary
by Blueberryattack
Summary: The night of Gale's encounter with Thread. New follow-up chapter up set during Mockingjay, spoilers for that book.
1. Canary

A/N: Just a quick one-shot I wrote, a bit of an explanation as to why Madge brings Gale medicine after he's whipped.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.

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I swear I don't understand that girl at all. I find her wandering out in the woods, all on her own. All she tells me is that she'd been going out there with Katniss lately, that she'd wanted to go out on her own. She even insisted that she wasn't lost, but it doesn't matter to me. She doesn't belong out in the woods. She has everything she needs in live at home in Merchant. That's where she should stay.

I'm surprised she isn't more sheepish about what she's been caught doing. She's the mayor's daughter, after all. I would think she wouldn't be caught dead participating in illicit activities, like being out in the woods. I'm even surprised that she's been out there before with Katniss, I hardly believe it. As we reach the fence, I listen for a moment, before crawling beneath it. I watch her do the same, surprised at how easily she does so, and at the fact that she doesn't seem to mind the dirt. Maybe she really has been out there with Katniss.

I have a turkey to sell to Cray, and so head for the head peacekeeper's house. She follows, I guess because she's on her way home. As she realizes where I'm headed, though, she suddenly looks panicked, like a tiny bird faced with a hungry cat.

"Gale," She gasps, grabbing my wrist, "You really shouldn't-"

I rip my arm away. "Madge, just go home,"I snap before I press on, not looking back at her. I head up to Cray's backdoor, and knock, but it isn't Cray that answers. The new head peacekeeper looks at me, then to the turkey in my hand, a sadistic grin spreading across his face. "You were out in the woods, weren't you?"

His voice is like acid, and I know I'm caught. Maybe I can still get out of it. "No. I shot this inside the fence. I just happened to wander across it..." As soon as the words fall from my lips, I know I'm caught, that there really is no way of getting out of it.

"Don't lie to me, boy," The peacekeeper growls, but soon that sadistic grin is back. Suddenly, he gives a sickening chuckle and grabbing my arm."Lucky you...You get to be my first public display."

I hear a rustle behind me, and we both look back. I see a flash of gold in the bushes near the back of the yard. "What was that?" The peacekeeper asks, his grip on my arm still tight.

"Nothing," I say, calmly, "Just a bird." I couldn't rat her out. This time, luckily, the new peacekeeper doesn't call me on my lie this time. He growls, and his eyes linger on the spot. But he has bigger problems, namely me, and drags me off. I don't struggling. No sense in making my situation worse.

In the mines, we bring down canaries with us when the alarms aren't working, to warn us of danger.

I should've paid more attention to mine.


	2. Strawberry

**A/N: Alright, I've done a follow up to this one shot. This is set during _Mockingjay_, so SPOILERS!**

**I also may or may not carry on with this, and try and develop it into a full story, since I'll be off for summer break very soon. But I'm still not sure about that yet. **

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People called him a hero.

He didn't think he was.

After all, he hadn't saved everyone in District Twelve from their deaths.

And all it took to remind him of that was a strawberry. One little red fruit that he had barely noticed. Katniss hadn't even noticed it. But he had seen it, and his mind immediately went to _her_-to their banter when he and Katniss had sold her strawberries for her father, that faithful reaping day, to the winter night when she had tried to keep him safe, and when he had returned the favor. From what he had been told about that same night-the night he had been whipped-she had brought him medicine to ease his pain, in the middle of the blizzard.

And that was a favor he could not return. Not now, because Madge Undersee was dead.

And he hadn't even thought to go back and save her.

While they were at the lake, he had first thought that the Capitol might've saved her and her family, but he'd quickly changed his mind on that. Why would they want to spare the girl who'd given Katniss her signature symbol, her mockingjay pin? No, they would've wanted the Undersees dead, like everyone else in Twelve.

For a little while longer he thought she might've gotten out into the forest, that she might've escaped, and would show up at any moment. Katniss did, after all, show her how to get past the fence. Maybe she'd taught her a few survival skills, too.

But she had never shown up, like so many others. That was the end of it.

He looked away from the strawberry, and began scanning the forest for any signs of movement. For the briefest of moments, he could swear he saw a flash of gold among the trees. He shook his head and looked away.

_Nothing, _He thought, _Just a bird. _


End file.
